On the advice of friends and after reading the reviews, I sampled a "real Italian" recently and was disappointed. Sure, the servers were friendly and the place smelled enticing, but I came away with the same soggy excuse for an Italian sandwich that is offered by most of Maine's sandwich shops.

It's more of an antipasto served on a large fluffy hot dog bun. It is impossible to eat the thing without spilling most of the veggies and getting oil all over everything. If I wanted a salad, I would order a salad.

Mainers should send a delegation to southern New England, NYC, and NJ to experience a true Italian: crusty roll with a soft inside, fresh-sliced meats (salami, capicola, mortadella, prosciutto) with aged Italian cheeses, topped with a relish of hot peppers, onions, spices and high quality olive oil. No raw green peppers, canned black olives or insipid pickles! Yes, it is possible to eat such a creation without making a mess around, and on, you.

Scorecard

"A REAL Italian is made with salami and provolone, but of course a whole array of other cold cuts are available: ham, capicola, roast beef, turkey, pepperoni, even tuna."
Michael Stern

"Colucci's is a neighborhood fixture. In addition to Italian sandwiches and all manner of other cold and hot sandwiches, the dinner case regularly contains such hot items as manicotti, lasagne, chili, mac & cheese, fried chicken pot roast, and chop suey. All is sold on a take-out basis."
Michael Stern